Above are some of the amazing GreenRedmond volunteers who donated time on Saturday restoring the Hartman Greenbelt. We had a ball! CLICK ON PIC! EXPAND THE VIEW!Updated, 6/17 - The above crew are mostly BMX dirt jumpers and their parents who donated precious time to improve the Hartman water district greenbelt. The BMX'ers use the greenbelt a lot for their BMX sport so it was rewarding to see many of them pitch in. We had 21 volunteers this day and the space looks so much better now! Several came all the way from Redmond Ridge. Mayor Marchione walked by our site asking twice what we were doing! "Building a park!" Pulling weeds! we exclaimed! He talked a little about the Council elections and how happy he was with Carolyn Hope the new Parks Planner, saying she's achieved so much in four months.
Several months ago, I went through a 6 hour training program put on by the City and Cascade Land Conservancy and PRESTO! I'm now a "Land steward" for the City's GreenRedmond Forestry Program. My job is to recruit and train volunteers who want to improve the Hartman Greenbelt. Mostly, we remove invasive plants, like Himalayan blackberries and ivy. Though, we've also found concrete waste and trash. In the Fall we will mulch and plant. This community work is rewarding in many ways. For example, #1 it's great exercise, #2 at the end of the day look at your work and are amazed about how much everyone accomplished, #3 you feel good about improving the forest habitat and appearance, #4 you meet new people, #5 students can get community credit and recognition from the City.
Norah Kates of the Cascade Conservancy summarizes: "GreenRedmond" is a partnership between the City of Redmond, the residents of Redmond, and Cascade Land Conservancy as exemplified in this photo. (Norah Kates is in the center; Chris from Parks Ops is right; Doug is the assisting steward). GreenRedmond works to restore and maintain all 1,035 acres of forested parkland in the city. So far this year we’ve gotten 215 volunteers who have donated 574 hours of their time to the Partnership, and the field season is just starting.
The Parks and Recreation department will be hosting work parties on the last Saturday of every month, there will be other events on the RedmondGreen website. So far we’re working in Farrel-McWhirter, Grass Lawn Park, Hartman Greenbelt, Idylwood Park, Viewpoint Neighborhood Park, and Westside Park/Bridle Crest Trail."
-- Norah Kates, Cascade Conservancey.
Click the pics to see all the people!
The website for GreenRedmond Partnership Land Steward is here.
Green trees deliver green benefits. - article recommended by Cascade Conservancy.
